Comparison

iMakeTime vs Private Journal

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

iMakeTime

This app helps busy individuals prioritize self-care, family, and personal growth. It offers quick, personalized tools to manage daily challenges, reduce regrets, and foster balance. Reclaim your day and feel better with just a few minutes of focused attention.

Highlights
  • Daily self-care prioritization
  • Regret reduction tools
  • Personalized balance tracking
  • Quick daily check-ins
  • Customizable goal setting
  • Positive habit formation
Features
Read full description

iMakeTime HELPS BUSY PEOPLE LIKE ME -Pay Attention to Who I Am & Who I Love a little every day! ______________________________ THIS APP IS 100% FREE! - NO annoying advertisements or "in-app offers" - Use it for 3 minutes 2-3 times a day to feel better, smile more & worry less ______________________________ USING iMakeTime SOLVES 4 BIG PROBLEMS… - ME TIME: Helps me stop sacrificing my health & family time when life gets busy - REGRETS: Helps me have less woulda\coulda\shoulda Regrets - BALANCE: Helps me enjoy progress without cheating other areas of my life - LEMONS: Helps me reclaim my day from negative surprises  ______________________________ iMakeTime WORKS BECAUSE IT’S FAST, EASY & PERSONALIZED! - QUICK RESULTS: In as little as 3 minutes twice every day - COMPASS: Scan my Big6 to make better CHOICES - MAP: Check off my Fav5 to maintain my BALANCE - LEMONADE: Scroll my pictures & captions for SMILES - EASY SET-UP: Wizard walks me through - GOOD HABITS: Trains my brain to own every day - HOW TO GUIDE: Shows me how to use each feature - NIGHTLY RESET: Purges my MAP entries for a daily "Clean Slate" - PERSONALIZED: Everything can be customized to reinforce who & what matter most in my life - 100% FREE: No “in-app” offers or subscriptions ______________________________ THAT NEGATIVE VOICE IN MY HEAD IS FEEDING MY REGRET MONSTER! Yes, we all have a Regret Monster. Drama & self-doubt keep it well-fed with woulda\coulda\shoulda Regrets that haunt us. iMakeTime helps starve my Regret Monster through: - Better choices & expectations (My COMPASS) - Positive actions & habits (My MAP) - A powerful way to regroup & reclaim my day from lemons (My Lemonade) ______________________________ LIFE CAN FEEL CRAZY, iMakeTime HELPS ME OWN MY DAY! My life is busy & full of change. MY MAP makes it easy to define & maintain my Balance of five priorities we all need, but rarely pay attention to: - Healthy - Living Able & Active - Happy - Celebrating & Appreciating blessings already in my life - HomeTeam - Enjoying Relationships that Matter - Wise - Living Positive & Consistent - Wealthy - Enjoying my Time, Cake & Frosting ______________________________ LIFE FEELS BETTER WHEN iMakeTime FOR WHO I AM & WHO I LOVE! But most of us spend so much energy chasing & firefighting that we lose touch with our purpose & people. MY COMPASS uses six simple statements that remind me of who I am, & who I'm becoming: - I Believe… What drives my purpose & priorities? - I Excel… What strengths support my success? - I'm Thankful… Where are gratitude & appreciation my fuel? - I Am… Why am I deserving & successful? - I Can… How can I explore & grow? - I Will… What will I do for ME today? ______________________________ WHEN LIFE HAPPENS iMakeTime HELPS ME RECLAIM MY DAY! We all get served our share of lemons & unwanted changes that DE-RAIL our plans. My Lemonade gives me a powerful tool that gets my attention so I can shake the negatives, regroup & reclaim my day: - Visual & Personal - 15 special photos & messages I selected to shake me out of a sour mood - A journal of positive memories I feel strongly about - Ready ANYTIME I need to regroup & refocus - Meaningful reminders of MY Healthy, Happy, HomeTeam, Wise & Wealthy blessings ______________________________ WHY SHOULD iMakeTime FOR ME TODAY? - Enjoy & Maintain my BALANCE using My Map - Prevent Regrets thru Better CHOICES using My Compass - Avoid a Bad Day with SMILE INSURANCE using My Lemonade - All 3 keep my busy life focused on ME, in just 10 minutes per day!

About

Private Journal

This app offers a secure and private journaling experience with a simple, user-friendly design. It focuses on helping users track their moods and daily experiences to foster happiness and positivity. All data is stored locally or in private iCloud, with no ads or logins required.

Highlights
  • Simple and intuitive design
  • Secure local and iCloud storage
  • Face ID/Touch ID protection
  • No login or ads
  • Supports accessibility features
  • Fair and transparent pricing
Features
Read full description

Punkt is the German word for punctuation mark. Punkt makes journaling secure, private, easy and fun. But the best of starting a journal now is that you become a happier person. Here's what makes Punkt special: * EASY TO USE * Punkt's focus is on a simple design. Your stories are the most important part of the app, so why should we distract you with any other complicated stuff? * SECURE AND PRIVATE * Punkt saves your stories on your local device and in your private iCloud. No one but you can read your stories. You can also protect your stories with Face ID or Touch ID. * NO LOGIN, NO ADS * Punkt works without sharing any personally identifiable information. The app is focused on simplicity and privacy. There is no login, no Facebook or Google SDKs, no analytics tracking, no server connection. Everything you do in Punkt is truly private and secure. * ACCESSIBILITY * Punkt supports dynamic type, voice-over and voice control. It is designed to be used by everyone. I would welcome any feedback regarding accessibility as this is truly important to me. * FAIR PRICING * Punkt is developed just by one developer, therefore I want to make really fair and transparent pricing. If Punkt makes you just a little bit happier, you can help to contribute that the app stays independent and does not need to display ads or require personal data. --------------- Why did I start building this app? I'm a startup founder myself and I've been through very rough but also hyper exciting and happy times. That's tough by itself, but if one of your loved ones is helpless in pain and suffers then your world stops spinning. Bad times in business and private life made me think about how I can get out of this and become more positive and happier in the end. I've researched a lot and came across the one-sentence journaling technique. Long story short, I've started tracking my days in a Google Sheet. With just a few clicks I could make myself smile again by reading stories about happy days. But also the other way round, looking at rough times makes you appreciate even more what you have in your life. Now I want to help other people with this app. If you have any feedback you can reach out at https://punktapp.me or gregor@punktapp.me ============ Should you choose to support the development of this app and unlock all premium features of Punkt, payments will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period and cancellation of the current active subscription period is not allowed. Auto-renewal may be turned off in your Account Settings in iTunes after purchase. You can read our privacy policy at https://punktapp.me/privacy-policy You can read our terms of use at https://punktapp.me/terms App Preview Music: www.bensound.com

Screenshots

iMakeTime4 screens
Private Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Private Journal at 4.7 against iMakeTime's 4.0. Private Journal also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 27 months) and ratings volume (544 vs 1). iMakeTime's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (12.2 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Private Journal sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. iMakeTime asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Private Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Private Journal has 544 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iMakeTime ships an update every 27 months, Private Journal weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
iMakeTime versus Private Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriMakeTimePrivate Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)4.7 (544 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—85.4% of reviews
Number of ratings1544 — better
Update frequencyEvery 27 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.2 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiMakeTime LLCGregor Pichler

Customer experience

iMakeTime

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Private Journal

All ratings542 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews254 reviews
Positive85.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative8.7%

Bugs and requests

iMakeTime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Private Journal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when exporting journal
  • Inconsistent behavior when writing late at night
  • Restore purchases not working on iPad

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add iPad and macOS app support
  • Allow editing of past entries
  • Expand mood/reason options
  • Provide more detailed analytics and data visualization
  • Add ability to change entry dates
Show 1 more
  • Implement iCloud/cloud sync support

In-app purchases

None

iMakeTime

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Private Journal

Subscriptions4
  • Punkt Premium Monthly$1.491 Month
  • Punkt Premium Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Punkt Premium Monthly3 Days trial$3.491 Month
Show 1 more
  • Punkt Premium Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • Punkt Premium Lifetime Special$19.99
  • Punkt Premium Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is iMakeTime free?
iMakeTime is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Private Journal free?
Private Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iMakeTime or Private Journal?
Private Journal is rated higher. iMakeTime averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Private Journal averages 4.7 from 544 ratings.
Do iMakeTime or Private Journal have ads?
Neither iMakeTime nor Private Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iMakeTime or Private Journal?
iMakeTime ships an update every 27 months, and Private Journal weekly. Most recently, iMakeTime was updated on October 19, 2026 and Private Journal on October 25, 2026.

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